Boris Novozhilov: Life and contribution to the physics of combustion

Professor Boris Novozhilov (1930-2017) passed away on February 19th, 2017 in Moscow. The present paper provides brief account of his life and contributions to the physics of combustion. From extensive scientific legacy left by Boris, several major achievements are discussed here: Zeldovich-Novozhilov (ZN) theory of unsteady solid propellant combustion, contributions to thermal explosion theory, the theory of spin combustion, discovery of propellant combustion transition to chaotic regimes through Feigenbaum period bifurcation scenario.